International Theatre Festival SITUATIONS/RELATIONS: Hamnet + talk

After the screening, a conversation about the film

invited to participate:

dr Anna Kowalcze — Pawlik — President of the Polish Shakespeare Society —

and Dr. Dominik Wierski — film expert

Anna Kowalcze-Pawlik — literary scholar, translator, assistant professor at the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the University of Warsaw, where she teaches literature and theater. President of the Polish Shakespeare Society, deputy editor-in-chief of the journal “Multicultural Shakespeare “, member of the British Royal Historical Society. Her research focuses on Shakespeare in translation and theatre and early modern English writers.

Dominik Wierski — Doctor of Humanities, cultural animator, teacher, spokesperson. She is interested in Polish and American film and sports history. Author of the book “Sport in Polish Cinema 1944-1989” and numerous texts and studies on the subject of film. For many years he has been the coordinator of the review of AFF-Era Filmowa, DKF “Surprise” and activities in the field of film education at the Youth Palace in Bydgoszcz.

ABOUT THE FILM:

HAMNET, a true masterpiece, with the extraordinary roles of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in cinemas from January 23, 2026.

The story begins in 1580. Will (Paul Mescal), a Latin teacher interested in words, words and again words, and Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a mystical “forest witch” who strongly prefers to commune with the non-human world, fall in love at first sight and kiss. Will proposes to Agnes, who accepts him. Each of them sees their whole world in the other. They have three children — eldest daughter Eliza (Freya Hannan-Mills) and younger twins Judith (Olivia Lynes) and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). Supported by his wife, William leaves for London to pursue creative ambitions. The long absence becomes difficult to bear, but it is only a great family tragedy that distances Agnes and William from each other and puts their love to the test. In his grief, Will writes Hamlet, one of the greatest works of art.

HAMNET (name used interchangeably with Hamlet) is a poignantly beautiful film. Composer Max Richter emphasizes this with a soundtrack that lives its own life. The film is shot with great sensitivity by Łukasz Żal and beautifully directed by director Chloé Zhao.

Costumes full of symbolism were designed by Malgosia Turzanska.

Buckley and Mescal share moments of intimacy that are so real they often take your breath away. The same can be said about children: Hannan-Mills, Lynes and Jupe possess a naturalness that is very rare in young actors. Emily Watson as Will's mother and Joe Alwyn as Agnes's brother also have their moments of glory here.

The film was produced by Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg.

Everything in this video is excellent.

To date, HAMNET has won the most important awards from the public at the following festivals: Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Middleburg Film Festival, San Diego International Film Festival, Valladolid International Film Festival, Virginia Film Festival.